A wide variety of desks have been developed for different purposes over the years. Today, specialized desks well adapted for use with computer equipment are in great demand.
Persons using computers at a conventional desk often develop a number of physical problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, upper and lower back problems etc. The increase in such problems is generally attributed to the continuous use of the keyboard and/or mouse for long periods of time without significant variations in body and arm positions. Also, many desks are not arranged to provide optimum positioning relative to the keyboard or to the other components that are used in conjunction with the computer, such as printers, floppy disk drives, papers, books, files, etc. Also most desks do not allow changes in body position during work.
A number of individual computer work stations have been developed in which the computer monitor can be raised and lowered or tilted to a desired angle relative to the user. The computer mounts that allow tilting are of little benefit, since most computer monitors either have built in tilt bases or can be easily provided with such bases. Typical of such computer work stations are those described by Tellier et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,561, Reese et al. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,835 and Leonard in U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,800. These devices tend to be mechanically complex and do not remedy problems of easy accessibility of computer peripherals and the need to permit significant changes in body position.
Desks have been provided with cut-out areas in the horizontal desk surface for supporting computer monitors and keyboards for vertical or tilting movement. Typical of these are the desks described by Bommarito et al. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,736 and Watson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,756. These, however, do not provide an ability to significantly change the position of the user's body relative to the desk top or provide easy access to peripherals, work papers, etc.
Thus despite the many efforts of others to provide more ergnometrically correct computer desks, there remains a serious need for improvements that would provide for more convenient access for computer peripherals, work papers, files, and allow different body positions for comfortable use.